Miss NJ Donates Organ Using New Providence Foundation

New Providence, NJ -- Cara McCollum’s memory will live on.

The former Miss New Jersey, who was critically injured in a car crash last week, has donated her organs using The NJ Sharing Network of New Providence.

“It is clear that Cara was a charitable person who wanted to help others,” said Elisse Glennon of NJ Sharing Network to Patch. “Cara served as a role model in the community and continues to do so through the gift of life she has given.”

One organ donor has the potential to save up to eight lives and one tissue donor can restore health to more than 50 people, Glennon noted.

Looking at the statistics, in 2015 a record 531 organ transplants, a 37 percent increase from 2014, were made possible by The NJ Sharing Network and the generosity of donors and their families.

Despite the record number of donations Glennon noted that there is “still a lot of work to be done.”

In New Jersey, there are nearly 5,000 people waiting for a life-saving organ transplant and every three days someone dies while waiting for that gift. Nationally, more than 122,000 people are waiting for a transplant.

“Organ donation is the ultimate gift that someone can give and it is also a rare gift,” Glennon said. “Less than one tenth of one percent of people who pass away are even eligible to be an organ donor. “

To make a difference people can register as an organ and tissue donor through their license at their local motor vehicle agency or at www.NJSharingNetwork.org.